


Light A Fire

by SmoakingGreenArrow



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), olicity - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 07:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13095513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmoakingGreenArrow/pseuds/SmoakingGreenArrow
Summary: Set between seasons five and six. Felicity is having a hard time after escaping Lian Yu. Her landlord turns off the heat one night and she is trying to cope with what she experienced on the island. Oliver comes over to check on her. Based on two prompts:“@crazycrystal10: Oliver being protective and kicking/scaring someone for making Felicity cry.”“anonymous: can you write a “huddling for warmth” holiday fic? They’re my favorite:)”





	Light A Fire

 

Sitting in front of the fire helped, but only slightly. She’d been cold ever since the island. Her body didn’t seem capable of getting warm, no matter what she did. She could still see the explosions and hear John’s voice yelling at her to run. She still got a shiver at the bottom of her spine when she thought about the jump into the freezing water and their swim for the boat.

The silence in the loft made it feel even colder, only her humming computers providing any noise.

She’d gone to see Thea earlier, hoping that sitting with her and talking would bring some warmth back into her life. She’d had a knot in her stomach when Thea ran off after Samantha, but she had swallowed it and followed John. And she hadn’t been able to bring herself to go see her in the hospital until today.

Thea looked more peaceful than she’d imagined, and it did bring her some comfort, until she came home to find out that the heaters in the loft were broken. The apartment was huge and drafty, and the chill on her nose made her feel lonely all over again.

Her phone started to ring, and she groaned, pulling her hand out of her blanket to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Felicity.”

She closed her eyes, hearing his voice on the other end. She’d been home for a week. But she hadn’t seen Oliver since the boat. “Hi,” she sighed.

Oliver hesitated, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, waving her hand even though he couldn’t see her. “I’m good. Just a long day.”

“Well, I’m sitting with Thea right now. Her nurses told me that you came to visit this afternoon.”

“I did,” she nodded.

“Why didn’t you call me? I would have gone with you.”

“No,” Felicity said, shaking her head, “It’s okay. It was nice. I talked to her for a good hour…” She tried to laugh, “It was nice.”

“Felicity,” Oliver whispered, and she closed her eyes. He hesitated for a moment. “Are you sure that you’re all right?”

She hadn’t seen him since they got home, but he’d called a few times. He had his hands full. And John was busy with his family. Curtis, Dinah, Lance, and Rene all busied themselves with the city. She’d asked for some time off, which they’d all graciously agreed to.

She didn’t feel like being busy.

She didn’t feel like doing anything.

“Yeah,” She said, finally snapping back into the conversation when she heard him mumble something under his breath. She stared at the flames in front of her, dazed and tired, “I’m fine, Oliver.” She waited another long moment, and when he didn’t reply, she cleared her throat, “Listen, I’m just rearranging some things at the loft.” She tore her eyes from the fire, glancing around the darkening room. “I should go.”

“Okay…”

“Thank you for calling, Oliver.”

She heard him sigh, “I haven’t forgotten what we said to each other on Lian Yu. I want you to know that. We  _will_ talk, Felicity.”

“I know.” She said.

He made a noise, that low one from the back of his throat, and she knew the exact face he was making; his lips pursed and his eyebrows pushing together as he tried to get out what he wanted to say.

 “Would you mind…if I called you again? Tomorrow, maybe?”

Felicity forced a smile, hoping he could hear it in her voice. “Of course. Goodnight, Oliver.”

“Goodnight Felicity.”

Felicity hung up the phone, setting it beside her and tucking her cold arm back into her bundle of blankets. She’d torn the comforter off her bed and wrapped it around herself, along with another fleece blanket that protected her legs from the chill. She had on her favorite sweats, and the warmest article of clothing she could find; a flannel that Oliver had left at the loft and never gotten back. And wool socks. 

She inhaled, taking a deep breath and resting her head on her knees. The fire crackled, and the flames reminded her of the wreckage on the island. As she stared at it, she turned her body to lay on her side. 

Feeling cold and out of place, Felicity closed her eyes. She shivered, folding her arms together and pulling the comforter up to her nose. She just wanted to be warm again.

Something eventually woke her up, but she couldn’t tell what it was at first. Her body tensed, lying perfectly still. She knew she must have been asleep for a while because the arm that she was laying on hurt like hell. She was shivering in the dark room, the concrete floor beneath her not doing her any favors. She groaned.

“Felicity?” She recognized Oliver’s voice. 

The door.

Oliver coming into the loft was what woke her up. She sat up quickly, groaning again when her back cracked, screaming at her for her poor sleeping choices. Oliver was on his way upstairs when she sat up, getting his attention. His eyes narrowed as he came back down, “What are you doing?” He asked.

“Uh,” Felicity scrambled, pulling the blanket tightly around herself and glancing at the fire that had died out. “I was sleeping.”

“On the floor.”

“Yes,” she breathed, nodding.

“It’s freezing in here.”

She felt nervous, “yes,” she said again, not sure what else to say. She didn’t have an explanation. In fact, she felt like a teenager again, her heart racing like it had when her mother had caught her trying to sneak out of the house those few times that she’d been careless about it.

Oliver came closer, standing above her before sighing and leaning down to get the fire going again. She chewed on her lip, not enjoying the disapproving look in his eyes. He was the one who broke into her apartment without even calling. She grabbed her phone. Six missed calls from him.

_Oh._

She bit her lip, and he didn’t speak either. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking, after finding her in a dark and cold apartment, sleeping on the floor…she didn’t really  _want_ to know what he was thinking about that.

“What are you doing here?” She asked as the sounds of the fire crackling to life filled the room.

When the flames began to light up the space, he turned, grabbing her blanket burrito self and pulling her closer to the fire. He knelt in front of her, and she huffed out a laugh, knowing she probably looked ridiculous, but he didn’t seem to have any traces of humor. He looked down at her, his eyes glancing over her face. “You sounded strange on the phone. I wanted to come check on you.”

“Well, I’m fine.”

He narrowed his eyes as he stared at her, and she knew he didn’t buy it for a second. Felicity swallowed, smoothing her hair behind her ears, “The pipes are busted. No heat.”

Oliver watched her for a long moment, and she wondered what he was seeing. He was watching her cautiously, like he was looking for something, but she wasn’t sure what…or if he was finding it. She squirmed uncomfortably under his scrutiny, his face right there in front of hers. “Why didn’t you tell me that on the phone?”

“Because…because I’m fine,” she said, shrugging.

“You know,” he mumbled, staring into her eyes, “The more you say that, the less I believe it.”

Felicity fought off a shiver, “I already talked to Mike. He’s getting the heat fixed tomorrow. It’s not a big deal, Oliver.”

“You still could have told me.” He grumbled, turning to add more wood to the fire.

“Do you know how to fix the heating system for the whole building?”

“No,” he said gruffly. “But you could have come to stay with us instead of freezing all night.”

“With you and William?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought we talked about that. On the boat.” She pursed her lips, remembering the conversation that he’d insisted on having on the boat ride off the island, promising her that they would talk more. What she’d  really needed in that moment was for him to put his arms around her. He didn’t, and she understood. It just didn’t change the fact that it hurt. 

He was looking out for his son, and she didn’t have anything to say that wouldn’t sound selfish, like she was complaining.  _Oliver, I’m feeling scared and alone right now, please give_ me  _your attention instead of William._

She scoffed at the thought of ever saying such a thing, and Oliver threw her a look, “What we talked about was not…being together… _right now_. Not while this is all so new for him. We did not say that if your apartment turns into an icebox, you can’t ask me for help.” He huffed, falling back to sit beside her.

“Maybe I didn’t want your help.” She said quietly.

Oliver’s head turned to look at her, and she clenched her jaw, keeping her eyes on the fire. “What’s going on with you?” He asked softly. She just shook her head. Oliver brushed her hair back from her shoulder so that he could see her face better. “Talk to me.”

Felicity sighed, “I don’t know, okay? I was on an island that exploded, Oliver.”

His hand stilled in her hair, “And you…you’re safe now.”

She turned her head to look at him, her face brushing against his palm where his hand was still in her hair. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, the warmth from his hand on her cheek feeling so insanely good that she had to lean into it. She opened her eyes to look up at him, and his gaze was trained on her face, trying to read her again. It felt vastly different than the way he’d handled their conversation on the boat. 

She wasn’t sure that he’d even noticed how affected she had been by what she’d seen on the island. He had been focused on William, and she couldn’t blame him for that. But the dried blood on her face and hands made it really hard for her to want to talk about  _them_ , her hair still wet and freezing from the swim. He hadn’t provided very much comfort, but then again, she’d never spoken up to tell him that she’d needed it. As far as Oliver knew, she was only shaking from the cold temperature of the water that night, thinking she’d be fine once she warmed up.

The problem was that a week had gone by, and she still didn’t feel warm. She didn’t feel any better than she had on the boat.

 “Did John tell you that we got lost?” she asked quietly.

Oliver nodded, “Yeah, he mentioned it.”

“Right. We stumbled upon that prison where evil Laurel and Talia al Ghul were when the bombs went off. John went inside to look for Lance and the others. He told me to stay put.”

Oliver’s grip tightened on her hair, his brow creasing, “But you didn’t?”

“I heard someone coming.” She admitted, “I didn’t know who it was, so I went after Dig.” She took a deep breath, “I got about ten feet inside of that place before I tripped over a body.”

Oliver shook his head, “Felicity,”

“I saw…I saw their faces. Their eyes. Do you know what it’s like to see someone’s arms not attached to their body?” she laughed once without humor, “I’m sure you do.” Felicity closed her eyes, “Once I calmed down enough, I got up and ran out of there.” She looked down at her fists, hidden beneath the comforter where she clutched onto it. “I had blood on my hands, and I couldn’t even tell if it was mine or not.”

Oliver’s breath caught, “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

She lifted her shoulders, “Like you haven’t seen worse.”

Oliver huffed, mild annoyance shifting over his face, “That’s not the point, Felicity. Does Dig know that you went in there? Did you at least tell him?” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Felicity,” he dropped his hand from her face, and she let out a soft sound of displeasure before she could stop herself. 

Oliver’s eyes darted to hers, and then he was tugging her into him, wrapping both of his arms around her, knowing from that one little sound what she wanted from him. “Felicity,” he breathed into her hair. “You can’t keep those things to yourself. They’ll eat you up inside.”

She pressed her face against his chest, keeping her body still as he held her. “I-I’ve just…I’ve never seen anything-” she choked.

Oliver moved his hands, running them through her hair and over her heavily blanketed back. “Tell me about it.” 

“The explosions…there were bodies…body parts…” She struggled to form any real thoughts about what she’d seen, even in her own mind. When a chill ran through her, he squeezed her a little tighter. She’d been exhausted from trying to forget those images. “And then it just got so  _cold_.” She bit her tongue, blinking quickly. 

Oliver pulled back to look at her, his hands rubbing up and down her arms. “I’m so sorry, honey.” He whispered, his face breaking. She closed her eyes, remembering why she hadn’t told him in the first place. She knew he’d feel guilty and that he’d try to make time for her. Time that he didn’t have, time that needed to be spent with William.

She pulled away slightly, looking up at him, about to tell him that he should go home.

And then he put his hands on her face, holding it between them like he did sometimes when he kissed her, and she couldn’t help but welcome that warm feeling. She let his palms on her cheeks warm her skin. “I’m still cold.” She said softly, staring up at him.

Oliver nodded, scooting closer to her. He slid his hands into her blankets, pulling her onto his lap. Felicity let out a deep breath, winding her arms around his neck, moving her fingers to caress his back. It felt like the first time she’d been warm in over a week. He shivered, and she knew how cold her fingers were. She buried her face in his neck, and he inhaled sharply when her cold nose grazed his skin. She breathed out a gentle laugh, “Sorry.”

Oliver shook his head, pressing his cheek to her head, and then his lips. He ran them over her hair, the spot below her ear, and then up to her temple, pressing warm kisses along the way. Felicity groaned, tightening her arms around his neck, trying to feel his body heat warming her, pulling herself closer. The blankets were wrapped around both of them now, and he felt like a furnace that she was just waiting to warm her up.

“Come home with me.” He sighed. Felicity froze, picking her head up to look at him. “I mean…come stay at my apartment.”

She shook her head slowly, “Won’t that be confusing…for William?”

He shrugged, “I have a friend who needs a place to stay. He’ll understand that.”

“A friend.”

Oliver stilled too, staring down at her as she untangled herself from him, already wishing for the heat back. “Felicity…”

“No, Oliver. I’m sorry. It’s okay, I just don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m fine here, you should get home though, I’m sure William’s wondering where you are.” She forced a smile.

Oliver huffed, hesitating for a long time as she settled back into her blankets. Alone. She watched the fire, waiting for him to speak and holding her breath. She wanted to cry. 

She really,  _really_ felt like crying. 

But she knew that he’d worry if she just started bawling like she wanted to, and then he might make her go with him, when all she wanted to do was lay there and cry for a couple of hours. 

“At least call the landlord, please. Ask him how much longer until he gets the heat fixed.” He picked up her phone and handed it to her.

“Mike?” She asked, raising her eyebrows. He nodded. “Now?” He nodded again, raising an eyebrow back. She rolled her eyes, finding her landlord’s name in her contacts and calling him. 

She wasn’t a big fan of Mike. She’d always made Oliver deal with him when they’d both been living there. Luckily she hadn’t had any reason to call him until now. When Mike answered with a sharp “ _what?”_ , Felicity hesitated, “Uh, hi Mike. It’s Felicity. Smoak. I just wanted to check with you again about the heat and see-”

“Listen, lady. It’ll be fixed when it’s fixed. I know you’re probably not used to minor inconveniences with your privilege and money always getting shit handed to you, but this is going to take some time.”

Felicity blinked, glancing at Oliver and hoping he couldn’t hear the conversation. His eyes were hard, and his jaw was clenched. 

He’d heard.

“Oh,” Felicity yelped, surprised by Mike, but also at the harsh look on Oliver’s face. “Uh, okay. Sorry to bother you…sir.” Oliver gritted his teeth, staring at the fire.

Mike scoffed, “Next time you’ve got a request princess, just remember that I’m not your manservant.” 

Felicity blinked again, this time trying to bite back some unexpected tears. She was too cold, too tired, and too emotional. “I’m sorry-” she choked out, her voice breaking.

Oliver’s eyes flew to hers, darkening as he watched a tear escape and roll down her cheek before she could swipe it away. He cursed under his breath, taking the phone out of her hand. “Mike,” he clipped. “It’s Oliver.”

Felicity listened as Mike stumbled over his words. “Oh, Mr. Queen. Hi, uh…how are you?”

“How long until the heat is back on, Mike?”

“Probably around noon tomorrow, Mr. Queen.”

“I see. And why, exactly, was that so hard for you to tell my…to tell Ms. Smoak?”

“Uh…” Mike trailed off.

“Listen,” Oliver snapped again, not letting him finish. His voice was on the verge of yelling and doing that scary, snarling Arrow thing. “I think we both know what I’m capable of, Mike. I sincerely hope, for your sake, that what I just heard isn’t how you talk to all of your tenants.”

Felicity choked on her breath, her eyes widening. Did he just threaten her jerk of a landlord?

“Of course not, Mr. Queen. Felicity just-”

“Ms. Smoak.” Oliver corrected sharply.

“Of course. Ms. Smoak just caught me at a bad time.”

“Well, let’s see that it doesn’t happen again, Mike.” He growled, “Because if I hear you speaking to Felicity with anything less than respect again-”

Felicity snatched the phone from his hand, quickly hanging up and tossing it onto the couch.

She glared at him. “Really? Did you really just try to  _threaten_ my landlord?”

“He was being an asshole.” Oliver growled back.

“I know.” Felicity snapped, her eyes burning holes into his.

Oliver stared back, “Does he still live in the apartment across the street?”

“What?” She asked, her brow furrowing. Oliver just raised an eyebrow, waiting. She let out a sharp breath, “Yeah, I think so.” He just nodded, and she scoffed, “You’re not going over there.”

“Like hell I am. He made you cry!”

“Oh, come on, Oliver.” She sighed, “We both know I can handle a lot more than a jackass landlord!”

He clenched his jaw, “Doesn’t mean I can’t kick his ass.”

 “I don’t need you to save me, Oliver! Not from scummy landlords, or cold apartments, or…”

“Or the nightmares?” He asked, his voice low. “The things you see when you close your eyes?”

She bit her lip and nodded, turning her gaze to the fire again. She wanted to handle it herself, but it was starting to feel like too much. 

And he was there. 

He was sitting with her and listening to her and touching her, and it was everything she’d been wanting since they got home.

Oliver sighed, pulling out his phone and dialing. Felicity watched him out of the corner of her eye as he lifted the phone to his ear. “Hey, buddy. I’m not going to make it home tonight.” Felicity stared at him. “My… do you remember Felicity?” He paused, smiling after a moment, “Yeah, her.” He glanced over at her, reaching his hand out to brush his thumb across her cheek. “Well, she needs some help with something tonight, but I’ll be home in the morning, okay?” Oliver nodded. “Goodnight, buddy. Hey, could you give the phone to Raisa, please?” 

Felicity shook her head, “Oliver, I don’t want you do to this-” He moved his thumb to her mouth, running it across her bottom lip in maybe the politest  _“stop talking”_  anyone had used on her. And there were a lot of those. 

He kept his eyes on her mouth, watching his thumb gently move across her lip as he spoke to Raisa, explaining that he wouldn’t be home until the morning, making sure she had a backup plan for dinner, since apparently he’d intended on cooking. And telling her to call him if William needed him.

When Oliver hung up, he dropped his phone into his lap. “There. If you won’t come stay with me, then I’m staying here.”

“Oliver, you should be with William-” she tried, her voice muffled beneath his hand.

“ _Felicity_.” He shot back before she could argue. “I’m not leaving you here alone to freeze on the floor.” He said incredulously, as if she was ridiculous to think that would even be an option. 

She turned her head back to the fire, shrugging away from his hand. “Fine,” she grumbled.

“Fine,” Oliver said back.

Felicity pulled a blanket off of the arm chair beside her and tossed it into his lap. He glanced down her body as she readjusted her own blankets. “That shirt looks good on you.”

She blushed, having forgotten that she as wearing his flannel. “It was the warmest thing I could find.” She mumbled.

Oliver smiled at her, his eyes doing that  _thing_ to her heart. She offered a small one back, unable to stop it when he looked at her like that. He reached his hand out, brushing his fingers over the collar of the shirt. “I always loved watching you come downstairs wearing this.” He whispered.

She bit her lip, her breath hitching. She shivered, his fingers sending chills across her body. Oliver’s brow furrowed, “you’re still cold,” he mumbled.

Felicity stared at him, only answering with another shiver when his fingers drifted from the collar to her neck. “Oliver…” she whispered. His eyes flickered up to hers. “I don’t want any regrets between us.” He nodded slowly, both of them remembering what she’d said on the island. “Will this be a regret?” She asked quietly. Oliver’s brow furrowed as he glanced over his face, shaking his head. His hand glided along her cheek and over her ear, his fingers finding their way into her hair.

She nodded in approval, leaning towards him. Slowly, she brushed her lips against his, and he sighed, closing his eyes and waiting for her to do it again. When she did, he held her face between his hands, pressing his lips to hers. It didn’t fix everything, but it was exactly what she needed.

Felicity let her blankets fall as he kissed her, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck when he turned to face her. 

It was only a matter of seconds before she felt hot and breathless, new warmth working its way through her body everywhere that his fingers touched. She groaned, pulling him on top of her. Oliver helped, guiding her back to the floor and settling between her legs.

He held himself up on one arm, taking a moment to make sure that there were blankets beneath her, protecting her from the cold concrete. Then he pulled a blanket over himself, enclosing them into a little fortress from the cold, making her giggle. He smiled down at her as the blanket fell over their heads. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been here for you enough.”

“It’s okay,” she said, stroking his face with her fingers, “ _this_ makes things feel okay again.”

“I love you, Felicity.” Oliver sighed, resting his forehead to hers. “You still know that, don’t you?”

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling them fill again with emotion, this time the good kind. “Yeah,” she whispered, “I know that, Oliver.” She lifted her head to kiss him, nipping at his bottom lip. “I love you, too.”

With the heat of his declaration ringing in her ears, the tenderness of his lips and hands on her, she let Oliver heal her. With the fire beside her and his body over hers, she finally felt warm again.


End file.
